Personal Worldview Research Paper

I think before I begin describing my personal worldviews, it is important to make note and remember what “world view” actually means. It refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and interacts with it; a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world. It is also important to remember that each individual has a different worldview, and judging someone because of his or her personal beliefs is, in a way, idealizing someone’s individualism. Personally, media and society have a large part to play in what I believe and think about this world. I don’t like to admit to the fact that I tend to “believe what I hear”, but that is exactly what I do. In my younger years I have a large memory of watching my family reading the newspaper and watching the local news for information on what was going on outside of our house, and because of that I grew to assume everything in the media was in fact, the truth. Now at 19 years old, I regret the fact that I was so naïve as a child because my worldviews are completely in the hands of whatever someone is telling me through a television or newspaper, and it’s generally not positive things. Because my worldview
is shaped by current news, it’s constantly changing and evolving. Most of the time I am however what I like to call a “positive world viewer”, which means I like to consider the world I live in a safe and happy place. But as we all know, this is not reality, and I do have reality based regards to certain things. For example, I believe prosperity is extremely hard to achieve in today’s society, yet for some reason we all believe each and every one of us should attain, or already have it. The same goes for work; poor or rich, with no regards to our back round, people believe we should all be working. But in my personal worldview, in our economy today, I’m surprised any of us still find the motivation to work, and I am happy for those who do. And for those who don’t, that is their personal choice. If however, someone chooses not to work, I do not support social welfare. I understand health disabilities, but if you choose not to work, you must feel what it is really like to be poor, and then there is not doubt in my mind that that particular person would go out and find a paying job. I believe that most people who are on welfare take advantage of it and do not know what it is really like to be poor. My worldview has shaped me to believe this. I think the system should require proof from anybody on welfare to prove that they have applied to multiple jobs at least every 3 months. The odds that a person would remain jobless after 6 months seems very slim if the state required this. My regards to social welfare as I just listed are what I would consider ideal, but what I consider ideal for whatever reason the state does not.
My ideal world is once again, unrealistic. In my ideal world not only would poor people have to be honest and humble, but there also would be a law against people of the lower class having children. In my opinion, if it were illegal for poor people to have children, the world would be a much better place. Think about a world with enough resources for everyone, including money, and think about how many things we would be able to change if our population of the lower class dropped. N.T. Wright wrote a quote that I especially enjoy reading during writing this essay. It doesn’t make me feel guilty about my ideal world. It
reads: “Worldviews are the basic stuff of human existence, the lens through which the world is seen, the blueprint for how one should live in it, and above all the sense of identity and place which enables human beings to be what they are. To ignore worldviews, either our own or those of the culture we are studying, would result in extraordinary shallowness.” -N.T. Wright

Every single one of us has in some way been shaped or influenced by the world and its views. Whether they are your own personal worldviews or someone else’s, they create who we are. In my unrealistic worldview, everyone is happy and peaceful, yet in my realistic worldview; just about everyone suffers in some aspect. It’s interesting how in my world you either are at the top, or suffering at the bottom and untrustworthy. When I think about people actually living my ideal world, taking my advice into account, I consider complete chaos. Is there really such thing as the perfect world? If there were, wouldn’t we have already achieved it by now? If in fact the lower class did stop having children and they did all get jobs, what would that leave for us? Everything would be ideal, and only the rich would get richer, along with the poor. There would be no more room for improvement and we would all have our noses in the air. So in my opinion, an ideal world, is better off messy sometimes. Most movies and books out today are meant to put us in the main characters shoes. This ultimately puts us in their worldview for the moment. We get to understand almost exactly what it’s like to be that person for a short amount of time, and see what they see, and feel and believe as they do. In a movie I just recently watched called “The fighter”, a boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward was on an unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO'd by drugs and crime. The movie put me in Mickey Ward’s life during the whole film. I saw what it was like to live in poverty with a family of over 6 and a brother who was addicted to cocaine and constantly in trouble with the law. I also felt what it was like to be embarrassed and judged because of his brothers actions, yet I also felt what it was like to have a dream, and motivation, and then the feeling of success that came with the accomplishment of the dream. If I could imagine myself in anybody else’s world, I would put myself in Mickey’s shoes all over again. Not only did he put me in a world I would probably never go in otherwise, but also he really expanded my thoughts about my own personal worldview. He made me realize that if everyone had the same worldviews, there would be no culture, no difference, and no unique back rounds. Our personal pasts are what shape our worldviews, and in a world where you can be anyone, be yourself.